It's done!

It's over! Semester 3 is done! UNBELIEVABLE!!
I have just finished my third semester - in one year and one month. 13 months. For 3 semesters.

I just handed in everything, had a final presentation and still can't really believe it. It seems like my life as a student just started but I am already close to having done half of it. Crazy!

I can't say how much I love my parents for giving me the opportunity to go to MHMK and through this to go to Thailand. I love you so much!! 100000 Thanks!!

And again: if you can do it DO IT!

Now the countdown starts, I have only weeks left... time to go shopping, sun bathing and relaxing!

Kisses to all my freinds out there and all the other students who are currently studying abroad and to everyone else!

Protests

Yep, there are protests here. Finally the rest of the world heard about it too. What has been going on for weeks now reached the west. But the media only found it to be interessting enough now, close to getting dangerous.
I am not into politics and I really don't know enough about Thai politics to tell you who is fighting against whom and for what reason. I do know it but there are lots of articles in your language out there that tell you what exactly is happening here much better than I could.

I want to tell you how I experience this. I am living here close to Klong Toei MRT station and I drive to Chulalongkorn university every once in a while and in the city to go shopping. In the first weeks all I saw and heard from the protest were voices far away and some banners hanging around. But as I am attending a TV news class in university I found out more and more. We interviewed students and protesters for a fake newscast, just for practice. But the interviews were real (they thought we were TV guys ^^)  and we got people there telling us how bad the government is in their opinion and a leader saying they don't want to be violent.
We discovered that the whistles they sell here everywhere became the symbol of the demonstrations. People go around here, carrying flags and wearing bands in the Thai colours - and they blow whistles. Thousands of people. It's really loud.
They want to be heard - up to now it seems more or less peacefully here. But who knows what's going to happen next? I don't feel fear. I know that some things just have to be fought out. But I am just hoping that, if they have to fight, it happens after I am safely back in Germany.

Today a group of protesters walked by me at Central World. First motorbikes then people by foot. They cheered to what a leader said and blew their whistles - LOUD
(the video's gonna turn after a few seconds)

Before Christmas Time in BKK!!

Here in Bangkok Christmas is mostly not celebrated itself.
But decorating is loved by every Thai person - so it seems...
Let the pictures speak!

Chatuchak market

Huge. Chaos. Colorful. Crowded.

Chatuchak Weekend market!
You should really go there. It's the biggest market of his kind in the world. No problem to reach it with the Skytrain - in fact it's a very nice ride!
When you get there just follow the crowd ;) You will be greeted with music and then all kinds of goods. The market is organised in halls and outside. in sections that are parted in Sois - so you can find your way even if it is really big. You can get a bit lost but after a while you will have found the right way out. There are soooo many things there! I think it is especially nice if you want to find hidden treasures - like vintage dresses or real handmade arts and crafts. There is even a part like a gallery for those who want to buy art.
Sadly they also sell animals - puppys and so on - and tourists stand there, watching the dogs in the tiny cages...
But all in all it's a great market and fun to go there!

(P.S. And I finally know enough about photoshop to use it ^^)

Siam Niramit

The name of a great theater show: Siam Niramit. If you ever go to Thailand VISIT THIS SHOW!!! This is a must! No excuses! You have to see this!

You arrive at the place and get greeted by colourfully clothed people, go through a hallway where you can buy souvenirs and enter a square where you can take pictures with elefants, eat, drink and enjoy a little performance before the actual show.
You can go farher inside to find the Thai village they built in there, a reproduction of how Thais used to live. Explore the houses, see masks and traditional working tools and feel like you are in an ancient Thai village!

Entering the show room you first see the enormous stage. And I really mean this. It's the biggest stage I have ever seen in my whole life. During the show it even opens up to reveal that the front part is containing water - deep enpugh for a man to jump in! Whole ships sail around, dragons fly in the sky, fish in the sea. And even the elephants that occansionally appear on stage seem to be little on this huge stage.
You will see three acts, the first showing how life was in the old times in different parts of Thailand, the second showing the Thai understanding of hell, the mystical creatures like gods that life on earth and heaven. The third part shows briefly some popular Thai festivals.

It is an explosion of wonderful music, breathtaking costumes and stories that will make you understand Thai culture a lot better.

You can't even describe what you have seen - because it's just something one must experience for themselves. I am so happy I saw this show - amazing Siam Niramit!

Kanchanaburi Trip

Don't we have the greatest university? YES!! Chula should be your choice - because you get to go on totally free trips!
This time we went on an overnight trip to Kanchanaburi, a province west to central Thailand. First we visited a beautiful temple on a mountain with a great view over the landscape.

After this we visited the River Kwai Bridge and the war cemetry. These are remainings or sites related to the second world war.
Then we rode the train to a restaurant to eat. The train ride was great. I personally love trains so being in one in Thailand was fun for me. =)

We finally arrived at our place to stay for the night: The Lake Heaven Resort. Fantastic!!!
You have to walk over a swimming bridge to the houses, everything the bungalows and the place to eat, it all swims in the water! The bungalows are really nice, clean and you have a rather big terrace where you can look over the water and relax. In the middle of the builiding on the water are a trampolin, a thing you can climb on, and lots of other water activity things. We all jumped right in, got our life vests, which you have to wear, and had two hours of fun, playing in the water!
The food was good, and we cloud even sing karaoke after eating.
The next morning we had breakfast with luckily european things too like toast and marmelade.
This place is absolutely fantastic to stay at!! If you can afford it it's totally worth coming there!!

The last place we visited was the Erawan Waterfalls. It has seven steps, you can climb up over steps and stone and see beautiful parts of the waterfall. I went up to step four, hab enough of climbing and went down to step one again, my favourite so far. The first step is the end of the waterfall and you can go along the way and see the little steps it takes down there. There are also lots of beautiful butterflies flying around in the sun that shines through the branches of the bamboo trees. It's peaceful even with the tourists there and a lovely place. And perfect for pictures ^^